The skull of the giant predatory pliosaur Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni: implications for plesiosaur phylogenetics |
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Authors: | Adam S Smith Gareth J Dyke |
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Institution: | (1) School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Republic of Ireland;(2) Present address: Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland |
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Abstract: | The predatory pliosaurs were among the largest creatures ever to inhabit the oceans, some reaching gigantic proportions greater
than 15 m in length. Fossils of this subclade of plesiosaurs are known from sediments all over the world, ranging in age from
the Hettangian (approximately 198 Myr) to the Turonian (approximately 92 Myr). However, due to a lack of detailed studies
and because only incomplete specimens are usually reported, pliosaur evolution remains poorly understood. In this paper, we
describe the three dimensionally preserved skull of the giant Jurassic pliosaur Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni. The first phylogenetic analysis dedicated to in-group relationships of pliosaurs allows us to hypothesise a number of well-supported
lineages that correlate with marine biogeography and the palaeoecology of these reptiles. Rhomaleosaurids comprised a short-lived
and early diverging lineage within pliosaurs, whose open-water top-predator niche was filled by other pliosaur taxa by the
mid-late Jurassic.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
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Keywords: | Reptiles Plesiosaurs Phylogenetics Anatomy Cladistics |
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